Cat and Mouse
by quinnalyn
Summary: Tyki/Lavi. After a freak encounter in a bakery, Noah's Pleasure develops an unhealthy relationship with a young Bookman. Discontinued & replaced.
1. As Snow Falls Softly

Cat and Mouse: Chapter 1

Pale grey clouds swept across London's late November sky. They watched the city like silent angels, sending down a soft, quiet snow that instilled everything with a calm, sleepy air. The streets were deserted, as everyone in their right mind was inside getting and staying warm. All of the streets, that is, but one: a remote avenue in the unlikeable part of town. There stood a man about as out of place as an urchin in a 3 star restaurant. He was tall and slender, with dark, wavy hair and piercing gold eyes. He wore an expensive suit and a top hat, both of which did little to disguise his ashen grey complexion and the row of 7 crosses splayed across his forehead. He was one of the Clan of Noah, and very pissed off.

He checked his watch and made a face: it was 5:15. He had been waiting at that exact spot since 10 in the morning. He glanced around nervously, like a rabbit searching for a fox: a very fat fox wearing a huge grin and an obscenely decorative top hat. The Noah was afraid that the Earl might pop up out of an alley and start beating him with his pumpkin-headed umbrella. This sort of thing had happened before and it was not pleasant. The Noah was missing a family dinner for this and would be reprimanded later, especially seeing as the Earl had expressly forbidden his coming here.

He glanced at his watch again and began whistling a tune he'd heard Road singing. He forgot the refrain and fell silent. Music echoed through the falling snow and left an eerie quiet in its wake. He shuddered, shifted his feet and lit a cigarette, the small flame lighting up his face like that of a demon."Where is that dumb akuma?" he said, voicing his thoughts out loud. As if waiting for his question, a small girl with long blond hair, smothered in winter clothes skipped down the street towards him.

"Good morning, Lord Noah!" she said cheerily.

"Evening." he said, his voice dangerously calm. "It's evening now. You're 7 hours late."The akuma lost all of its previous pep. Fear flashed on its face.

"Oh... I'm t-terribly sorry Lord Noah. It won't happen again." Her voice was a whisper. He looked daggers at her. "But I did retrieve the Innocence like you told me to, Lord Noah. Here it is, Lord Noah."She said proudly, handing him a small white cube from deep inside her coat. It sparkled slightly in the half-light as she presented it to the handsome Noah before her.

The man took it in his hands. He felt none of the usual surging energy he had encountered in other Innocence. Recently a strange obsession with the stuff had come over him. He planned not to destroy it, but to perform experiments on it to put his insatiable curiosity to rest. He held it up and examined it, confusion growing on his face with each passing second. Taking his cigarette in his free hand, he stuck out his tongue and licked it. Rage twisted his grey features and without warning, he slapped the small girl in front of him so hard that the skin on the right side of her face was completely torn away, revealing the metal skeleton underneath. The akuma fell to its knees in the snow, clutching its mutilated head. "Have I done something wrong Lord Noah?" it stuttered.

"Yes, you idiotic piece of shit!" he yelled. "This is a sugar cube, not Innocence!" He threw the lump of sugar down in front of the akuma. _All that time wasted, for a sugar cube!_ He thought. ""Did you even listen to my instructions? There are 24 Innocence in the Black Order, all kept in the same place."

The akuma nodded meekly "Yes, Lord Noah. There were 24 in a fancy bowl on an important looking table, next to a teapot." It said "I counted them several times."

The Noah struggled to maintain calm. "What idiots would keep the essence of their very existence in a bowl on a coffee table?" he knelt down and leaned into the girl's face "And what idiot would mistake a lump of sugar for Innocence? Go back. Get me my Innocence. And this time, don't fuck it up."

"I can't, Lord Noah." said the akuma quietly. "My hat slipped and one of the exorcists saw my pentacle." She indicated the star on her forehead. "He had red hair." She added for no apparent reason.

The Noah rolled his eyes. Akuma were so clueless. "Then get a new body. Little girls don't walk around with half their face missing." He said by way of dismissal. She began walking off. "Oh, akuma, don't call me 'Lord Noah'. It's so annoying."She stopped, asking him what he would prefer. "My name is Tyki Mikk." He said.

"Yes, Lord Tyki Mikk." The akuma curtsied and scurried off. Tyki sighed and decided to get something to eat. He walked away from the grimy street he'd befriended over the past 7 hours. He found a quaint little bakery that radiated warmth and entered, rubbing his frozen fingers.

"Are you sure you haven't seen any small girls with stars on their heads?" said a voice with an elusive, strange accent. From his location, Tyki could see only that the speaker was a young man with messy red hair and wearing an exorcist's uniform. Tyki was intrigued. Something about this exorcist was different. He felt a strange attraction to the redhead. _Destiny?_ a small part of Tyki's mind suggested. _Shut up. That sort of stuff doesn't exist._ The rest of him quickly squashed out that idea, or so he thought.

"No. You're the only customer so far since the time you mentioned." said the baker, a portly man with a fluffy moustache. Tyki walked slowly up to the counter and noticed that the exorcist was eating a strawberry chocolate cheesecake Danish and looked like he was enjoying himself thoroughly. He had green eyes, or rather, one green eye, as the other was covered in a black eye patch. "Excuse me, sir, how may I help you?" asked the baker.

"I'll have one of what he has." Tyki said, snapping out of his daze. He stood, staring at the exorcist, transfixed. Try as he might, he could not take his eyes off the boy. This bothered Tyki. He decided to scare him a bit to relieve some of this emotion. Silently, he let a few of the Teez materialize in the air around him. The exorcist didn't notice. The Noah sighed and took his pastry.

"Lord Tyki Mikk!" said a tall, blonde man, striding into the bakery. "I found myself a new body, just like you told me to! I'm going back to the Black Order for the Innocence now." _God, that IDIOT!_ Tyki thought, staring at the akuma he had talked to just 10 minutes before, seething. The exorcist's head snapped up. For a few seconds, he sat, staring at Tyki, then one word escaped his lips: Noah... Tyki took a step towards him and he sprung to life. He was out of his seat so fast no one saw him get up. He ran, slamming headlong into one of the ornate steel and cherry wood chairs, knocking it over. He swore, stood up and bolted out the door. Tyki couldn't let him get away; besides, he wanted to find out more about this exorcist. He followed.

"WAIT!" he called after the boy as he disappeared down a side alley. He turned into the same alley and almost ran into the redhead. He had taken out a small hammer from a holster on his thigh. At a word from him, it grew to the size of a small cow.

"Fire stamp!" the exorcist said to the hammer and Tyki suddenly found a flaming snake rushing at him. He stepped aside as the fire dissipated.

"Wait, I just want to talk to you..."he said putting his hands up to show he had no weapons. The exorcist turned and disappeared, running like the Devil himself was following him. _Maybe he is. _Tyki thought. "Teez," he said, addressing one of the purple and black glowing butterflies fluttering around him "follow him." The butterfly shaped demon flew off after the boy, leaving Tyki standing alone with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about that exorcist made Tyki feel both depressed and ecstatic all at once. He punched the grimy wall of the alley, though he knew full well that wouldn't help any.

Later that night, Tyki slunk into the Noah's hideout, wary of anything that might give him away. He took off his clothes in a daze and curled up in his bed, feeling empty. He closed his eyes, and images of the redheaded exorcist filled his mind. He smiled weakly and fell into a restless slumber.

When he woke up, he felt drunk. _Have I been drinking?_ Tyki asked himself as he pulled some clothes on and stumbled downstairs. He was greeted by the rest of his 'family', Jasdevi arguing over something, Road cramming for a test and Skin crunching small candies between his shark-like teeth. The slightly salty scent of bacon frying wafted up to him from the kitchen. The Earl poked his smiling head out from behind the kitchen door "Ah! Tyki-pon is finally awake!" he said.

Tyki sighed and sat down. Almost immediately, he found a large plate of eggs and fatty bacon under his nose. "I'm not hungry..." he said in a moody grumble. Road looked up at him.

"Where were you last night, Tyki? You were supposed to help me with my English test." she asked him, holding out her thick textbook in disgust. Tyki grabbed it and opened it to a random page. "The theme of an article of prose is reflective of the summation of the article's main ideas." He said in a bored tone and handed it back to her.

Road glared at him "You're no help at all." She said. "Where were you?" she repeated.

"Indeed, Tyki-pon, you missed dinner!" the Earl said, sitting down at the head of the table.

"Lucky Tyki. It was a piece of shit." David sniggered.

"Yeah! Shit! And boring to." Chimed in Jasdero. A death glare from the Earl silenced them.

"I was in London." Tyki said evasively.

"Why?" asked Skin.

_Oh, so he CAN speak._ Tyki thought sarcastically. "I...needed to do something." He said. The Earl asked him what. "The Teez were getting restless, I needed to find a host for them." He lied.

"All the way in London?" the Earl probed.

"There isn't a living human within 30 miles of here, it's all akuma." Tyki said. This seemed to satisfy his fellow Noah. Skin stood up and lumbered off and the Earl went to go do whatever it was he did every day. David picked up an apple, but just as he was about to bite into it, Jasdero pulled out his revolver and shot the fruit out of his twin's hand. David pulled out his gun and started shooting madly at the blonde next to him. Jasdero returned the favor and the two disappeared, only to be replaced with a tall man with hair as long as Rapunzel's. After a moment of surprise, Jasdevi walked off, grumbling to himself, leaving Tyki and Road alone.

After a few minutes, Tyki decide to break the silence. "I think something's wrong with me, Road." He said.

"Like how?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her work.

Tyki took a moment to think before answering. "Like: I feel empty and full at the same time, happy and extremely depressed. I'm restless and I can't stop thinking about someo- someTHING. I can't sleep and I'm losing my appetite. I feel like all my life, something has been missing, that I found that thing, and then let it go. It's almost like-"

"I think you're in love, Tyki." Road said, interrupting him.

"WHAT?!" Tyki was outraged. "I'm not in love! How am I in love? Does it look like I'm in love? Road, you've finally lost it, I am NOT in love!!!"

"Definitely in love." she said, going back to her textbook. "Tell me, who is it?" she asked, like she was reasoning with a child.

Tyki was silent for a few moments. "You'd never believe it if I told you." He said at last.

"Try me." She said, placing a bookmark in her half- completed school work and looking intently at him. "Is it an exorcist?" she asked.

"How did you know?"Tyki asked and swore. "Road, that's just mean."

"How so? It was you who told me." She said. "Is it that one green haired girl?"

"No. I don't know her." Tyki said.

"I can't picture you with that one Miranda woman either...and General Cloud Nine is in Morocco..." Road said thoughtfully. "Is it one of the male exorcists?"

"NO! What about the other female exorcists?" Tyki asked, startled by Road's quick –and correct- conclusion.

"There are none. I bet it's that red haired exorcist with the eye patch." said Road with almost total certainty. Tyki's silence told her she was correct. Road grinned. "Tyki's in love." She said, dragging out the last word. "With a guy exorcist!" she taunted.

"Shut up. I know you have a soft spot for that Walker boy." Tyki snapped. Road glared at him. A noise at the door caused them to look away from each other. Jasdevi stood there, looking triumphant. They had managed to separate themselves.

"What are you talking about?" they asked.

"Tyki's in love with a male exorcist!" Road said gleefully.

"No I'm not!" Tyki snapped indignantly. If Jasdevi knew about the boy he'd met last night, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Ahh, love..." David intoned dramatically, leaning against the wall and smirking at Tyki.

"Hehe! That's priceless!" Jasdero giggled, crouching on the coffee table in front of Tyki, giving him an unpleasant view of the blonde's already accentuated mid-section. "What's he like?" Jasdero teased the glowing bubble on his head inches from Tyki's face.

Tyki stood up and walked towards the door. "I could find better company with Lero." He said, but the truth was, he was grateful to Road. She had helped him realize the truth behind his feelings. And now that he knew what it was that made his heart so heavy, he could better think about what to do with it. He told himself repeatedly that it was stupid to fall head over heels for an exorcist. He was a NOAH, and that exorcist was a GUY. Tyki found himself walking through town. He needed to get the exorcist out of his head. He grabbed the first hooker he saw, pressed a wad of money into her hand and dragged her off to a high end hotel.

Later that night, Tyki lay there in the dark, alone. The woman had left, and now all he had for company were his thoughts. And those seemed to refuse to go in the direction he wanted them to. Visions of red haired men whirled through Tyki's head like a thousand demons, monsters that he himself had invited in. He tried to sleep, but he would dream about the exorcist, he would do things he never would have even imagined if it hadn't been for that damn boy! Tyki woke sweating and breathing heavily for what must have been the 4th time that night. Something was fluttering around his head. It was the Teez he had sent to trail the exorcist. It came to rest on the finger he extended for it and all it had seen came flooding into Tyki.

_The exorcist was walking down a snowy street, looking troubled. He wandered into the Black Order and Tyki saw nothing but walls as the Teez found an open window to fly through. When it located the exorcist, he was sitting stretched out on one of the couches in the lounge, staring into a cup of black coffee. "Lavi!" a voice said and the redhead looked over to its source. So his name is Lavi_, Tyki thought.

_"Oh, Lenalee..." Lavi said, disappointment lacing his every word. He went back to staring at his drink._

_"You look down." Said the girl, sitting next to him._

_"No, just confused. I saw a Noah today." She reacted with shock and concern, asking him about the experience. "He walked into the bakery I was eating at. He chased me into an alley, but then he just stood there, staring at me. He didn't even attack or anything. It was really weird."_

_"You should get some rest." The girl said. Lavi agreed and walked off, leaving his coffee._

_In his room, Lavi wasn't alone; there was an old man with thick, black makeup around his eyes lying on the top bunk of the bed. There was no furniture, just mounds of old newspapers and books. "Hey Panda-face," he said to the old man. "Does the Noah have some sort of connection to us Bookmen?"_

_"What? No. Why do you ask?" the old man said drowsily._

_"I saw a Noah today, and felt this strange bond with him, like we were destined to meet or something." Lavi said, as casually as possible._

_"Hmmm... Interesting. I don't know what that was, but it's nothing I've ever felt." Said Panda-face._

"_Oh. Well never mind then."He said, wearily stripping off his black leather uniform. _Tyki caught a good look at the exorcist's toned upper half and did nothing but stare, drinking in every curve of his body.

"_Hey Lavi." said the old man."What's that butterfly thing above your head?"_ That was all Tyki saw, as the rest of the Teez's memory was of flying swiftly towards Tyki's hotel room.

Tyki sat silently for a few minutes, deep in thought. _So, exorcist, you feel the same way about me as I do you. We should meet, soon..._ Tyki said the exorcist's name out loud, savoring its flavor on his tongue. "Lavi..." _Tomorrow, we'll meet; get this whole thing sorted out..._ Tyki closed his eyes, no longer trying to drive out images of this exorcist that had stumbled into his path. "Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll properly introduce myself..." he said, grinning sadistically as thoughts of Lavi danced through his mind.

Ha-ha. Sorry it's so long! Please review, and be honest, I hate when people don't tell me ways I can improve... I don't know if this story will last, but I'm working on chapter 2 right now...


	2. Shall we call it a date?

Cat and Mouse: Chapter II

When Tyki woke up he lay in bed for a long time staring at the ceiling. _What should I do about this exorcist?_ He asked himself. It was bothering him less and less that Lavi was a guy (he was Noah's Pleasure after all) , but Tyki WAS annoyed with the boy for waltzing right into his perfectly happy double life and stealing his heart. He pulled his worn deck of cards out of his pants pocket from where they sat, accumulating dust and wrinkles, on the floor. He began to shuffle them, trying to get his head straight. He lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl around his head. A knock on the door caused him to look up from the flurry of cards in his grey hands as they fell into place after another perfect bridge. Tyki slid into the terry robe the hotel had so kindly provided and answered the door.

There stood a peppy maid. She held out a tray of steaming food. "Would you like something sir?" she asked.

"I'd like you to stop bothering me." He snapped and slammed the door. As he stood there, his stomach growled, he hadn't eaten anything for almost two days. He opened the door again, calling to the maid's receding figure in the hallway. "Hey! Wait! I think I'll have some of those sausages."

Twenty minutes later, Tyki had indulged in an enormous breakfast and was telling the maid everything. "Yeah, so, we're **worst enemies** and he HATES me, but I can't stop thinking about him. I know I should just forget about the whole thing, but damn, he's the sexiest guy I've ever seen!" Tyki ranted.

"Mmmhmm... Yeah... I know what you mean..." the maid said, nodding. She seemed enthralled with his every word.

"Wait a minute, why am I telling you this?" Tyki asked, coming to his senses.

"I don't know," said the maid, shrugging her shoulders. "Now as you were saying..."

"No! That's MY business! Go away." Tyki said, shooing her out the door. _GOD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD, LAVI!!!_ Tyki said, slamming the door and pressing the heels of his palms into his temples. _What the hell is wrong with me? First I get all depressed over the fact that a perfectly good hooker isn't my worst enemy, then I'm actually NICE to a maid?_ Tyki stared out the window. Maybe if he killed Lavi, this would all end. _No, let's be rational. I'll just take him to dinner and tell him how I feel._

Tyki got dressed, wearing a pair of tight black slacks and a white dress shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone. It was cloudy and wet out, but seeing as it was a Saturday, wearing a suit would just give people cause to stare. He put his cards in one pocket, a pack of cigarettes in the other, and walked out of the hotel. He found the nearest high end restaurant and stepped inside. "I'd like to place a reservation for tonight," Tyki said to the waiter.

"How many?" the man asked. He was taller than Tyki, and wore a look of smug satisfaction on his face. _I can't believe I'm doing this. _Tyki thought, looking at the man with disgust.

"Two." He replied curtly. The waiter asked his name. "Tyki Mikk." When the man had all the information he needed, Tyki trudged out the door to begin the next phase of his plan.

* * *

When Lavi woke up, his leg was throbbing. He sat up and upon seeing the large green welt on his leg, groaned and let his head fall back onto the pillow. He must have received the bruise upon coming in contact with the iron chair at the bakery. Lavi groaned as he remembered the bakery and the events that occurred there. They had been the reason Lavi had gotten a total 2 hours of sleep. Thoughts of the mysterious Noah he'd seen had swirled incessantly through his troubled mind. Now, in the cold morning light, the Noah's face swam behind Lavi's closed eyes once more. The exorcist sighed and got out of bed, dressing silently and trudging off to eat breakfast. Since he was among the first to arrive in the cafeteria, the eggs and bacon that Jerry piled on top of his plate were piping hot. Lavi sat down with another sigh and started poking moodily at his food. It should have been delicious, but Lavi was completely absorbed with thoughts of the handsome Noah he'd seen the previous night. _Why did that Noah follow me? It's not like I had anything of value with me, and if he wanted to kill me, he would easily have done so. He may even have tried to trail me or something; if that purple butterfly was the same one I'd seen resting on his shoulder before. Why would a Noah be so interested in me? And more importantly, why am I so interested in him? _

Lavi's thoughts were interrupted as something landed on his plate: an envelope. He looked up to where it had fallen from and saw the same purple butterfly that had been following him the previous night. Hastily, he broke the wax seal and removed the envelope's contents. Inside was a small note, hastily scrawled in uneven letters. "Lavi," the redhead read under his breath "I don't know how you feel about me, but I've taken a great interest in you. I want to meet you, exorcist, at _le Restaurant Sophistiqué,_* 7:30 tonight, don't keep me waiting." Lavi sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating his next move. His mind felt torn in two between 'stay the hell away from this creep' and 'aw hell, what have you got to lose'. Eventually, the latter gained the upper hand, squashing out almost all hesitation about the Noah.

* * *

At 7:30 that night, Lavi stood outside the restaurant Tyki had mentioned. He stepped onto the walkway leading to the imposing front door, gazing at the soft yellow light streaming from _le Restaurant Sophistiqué_. He wondered to himself why there would be a French restaurant in the middle of London, but stepped into the restaurant's warm interior anyways, glad that is was toastier in here than outside. Lavi's green eye caught those of a waiter sitting behind a counter and looking bored. "Do you have a reservation?" she asked.

"Uh... I don't know." Lavi scanned the tables for any sight of the Noah who had invited him here. Tyki Mikk was nowhere to be seen. _Great, he tells me not to be late, then doesn't show._ Lavi felt strangely disappointed.

"Excuse me!" the waiter snapped, and Lavi realized he had been trying to get his attention. The exorcist muttered an apology, still looking for Tyki in the crowded restaurant. "Name?" the waiter asked, clearly annoyed at having to do his job.

"Lavi." The redhead said absentmindedly.

"Lavi what?"

"Just Lavi."

"You're not on my list." The waiter said, eyeing Lavi.

"Oh. Well... What about Tyki Mikk?" Lavi asked.

"Oh," said the waiter in disgust. "You're with _him_," he sighed. "Right this way, _sir_." The waiter impatiently led Lavi past a sign reading 'We show our customers only the best of manners' and to a small table in a secluded corner. He handed him a menu and stalked off. There were 6 full pages of entrees, but Lavi could find nothing he wanted. He saw the waiter approaching and scanned the menu over again. _What do you want, Lavi? _He asked himself. _Tyki Mikk,_ said the same rebellious part of his mind that had led him here in the first place. _Shut up! I just want to find out why he's following me and maybe get some information on the Noah for Pandaface._ Lavi decided just to get some tea while he waited for the Noah to show up.

"What? No wine?" the waiter asked, an incredulous look on his face as Lavi ordered a pot of ginger tea. He walked off, shaking his head and muttering. Lavi wanted very much to have wine, but he knew that if Tyki didn't show, he would get illogically depressed, extremely drunk and most likely end up in an alley with no clue what had happened. _Why do you care so much about this stupid Noah? You haven't even been introduced. Just get up and walk out of the restaurant. _Lavi tried to reason with himself, but he stayed rooted in his seat. After almost half an hour of waiting, boredom overtook him and Lavi started memorizing the appetizers and their prices.

Upon completing his mental list, he began reciting it under his breath. "Shrimp Cocktails- $15.85, Fresh Breadsticks-$7.99, House specia-"

"Bored much?" a voice said, alarmingly close to Lavi. The redhead jumped and his head snapped up. In the chair across from him sat none other than Tyki Mikk.

"What are you doing here?" Lavi asked, then smacked himself.

"...Eating dinner with you..." Tyki said, looking at Lavi like a canary might view a 7 legged cat trying to do a back flip.

"Yeah. Of course..." Lavi said, sipping the spicy tea that had arrived about ten minutes ago. "So, why would you- a Noah- invite an exorcist to dinner?" he asked.

Tyki lit a cigarette. "Straight to business... Don't you want to talk about something a bit more table-friendly?" Lavi glared at him insistently. "Okay. But I thought I explained it in my note."

"'I've taken an interest in you' isn't a good enough explanation. And you have terrible handwriting." Lavi said flatly, trying to disguise how relieved he was that he WAS going to have dinner with his nemesis after all.

Tyki was silent for a moment. "Have you ever been in love, exorcist?" he finally asked. At that moment, the waiter returned, asking Tyki what he would like to eat, a venomous look in his eyes. "I'm not hungry. How about you, Lavi?" he asked. Lavi shook his head. "Okay. I'll just have some Earl grey tea." He said as the waiter grumbled over to another table. Lavi started laughing. "What?" Tyki snapped. He hated people laughing at him.

Lavi grinned. "A Noah ordering EARL grey tea!" Tyki stared at him blankly. "It was funnier in my mind." Lavi said, falling silent.

"I find it more amusing that we go to a fancy restaurant and don't order anything more than tea." Tyki said, sitting back and crossing his legs. "Now, as I was saying about love, I think I may have fallen for you."

"WHAT?" Lavi squawked. "You're in love with me?!"

"That's what I've come to understand. Please don't take it personally." Tyki said, trying not to lose Lavi.

"Not take it personally? Do you have any idea how weird that is? You walked into the same bakery as I was eating at and now you love me?" Lavi asked, standing up and backing away. "Is this a trick?"

"No!" Tyki said in exasperation, grabbing Lavi by the shoulders. "It's not like I want to have sex with you." He paused. "That's a lie, I want to fuck you senseless, but I won't! And that's not the point!"

"I didn't say it was!" Lavi retorted. "But it's obviously something pretty high on your priority list." They both fell silent and realized simultaneously that the friendly chatter emanating from _le Restaurant Sophistiqué _had disappeared. Everywhere, faces were trained on them and Tyki realized that from the rest of the diners' views, it looked like he was strangling Lavi. He quickly withdrew his hands from Lavi's shoulders and stepped back.

"Lavi sighed and glared at Tyki. "_Nice._" He said and walked out of the restaurant, stares from the other guest's eyes following him out the door.

"What are you looking at?" Tyki shouted at the upturned faces boring holes through him. He angrily swiped his teacup off the table and it landed with a faint crash on the carpet. He cast on e last furious look at the crowd before walking through the wall and out into the cold winter night. _Stupid fucking bastard. Idiot Tyki. Of course he won't love you immediately. Only girls are dumb enough to fall for that. He hates you now, and it's all your fault. Whatever made you think you love him in the first place? You should just give him up, maybe kill him._ At this thought, Tyki's human half squirmed and ached. _You can't do that, you love him, _it said._ He'll come around soon enough. Kill him and you'll regret it forever._ Tyki's inner Noah just chanted _kill him, kill him,_ over and over. _You're the Pleasure of Noah, Tyki, who is he to deny you what you want? _It whispered slyly. Tyki stopped walking and stood in the falling snow, contemplating his next move. The voices in his head chattered endlessly, but he finally decided on a plan. If Lavi would not come to him naturally, he'd use force. Tyki grinned and slipped off into the night.

* * *

Lavi sighed. For some reason he felt guilty about yelling at the Noah. Had he just been trying to squash any feelings for the Noah that he himself had. _NO! You have no feelings for him! You are a Bookman, you don't have feelings, pull yourself together!_ Lavi felt a hot tear slide down his face, there were moments when he hated his life as it was, where he wished he could feel as he pleased. He swiped it away and stalked off into the snow. Small flakes shivered in the air around him, weaving through his feet as he walked in no particular direction. He thought about his past lives, using his past mistakes and victories to shove Tyki out of his head. Would he ever see the handsome Noah again? Lavi didn't need to dwell on that thought for long because out of the darkness loomed Tyki's face, a twisted grin spread across his lips. Then everything went black.

* * *

*_ le Restaurant Sophistiqué_ is French for 'the Fancy Restaurant'. Original, I know.

Sorry it took so long to update! I'm banned from the computer, so it's been hard to find time for typing... I've also been really sick. This may not be as good as Ch. 1 because my creativity/imagination/writer's mojo/whatever-you-want-to-call-it ran away and died. I have yet to find it.


	3. Yum! Pancakes!

Cat & Mouse Chapter III

The first thing Lavi's senses told him was that he was very comfortable. He felt encased in a cloud; warm, fuzzy, content and sleepy. However, when he opened his eyes, he was in a dimly lit room that smelled of stale cigarette smoke and alcohol. _First impressions are rarely accurate._ Lavi thought, looking around and feeling disappointed that he hadn't been on a cloud after all. The walls of the room were cluttered with pin-up posters, but aside from that, the room lacked in décor. Lavi was lying in a large, comfortable bed, which explained his cloudy thoughts earlier. On one side of the room, a red upholstered armchair sat flanked by two small side tables collecting dust. The dark interior of a barely lit walk-in closet loomed at him from the opposite wall. But it was the part of the room that lay to his right is what interested the young exorcist. There was a small balcony which let in a trickle of grey light and sitting in a plain, wooden chair beside it, Tyki Mikk.

"Ah. You're awake," the Noah said, smiling at Lavi and lighting a cigarette.

Lavi sat up and as the sheets fell away from his chest, he realized he was completely naked. "What the...?!" he scrambled to cover himself. A grizzly thought crept into his still bleary mind. He glared at the Noah. "You didn't..."

"No, Lavi, I didn't rape you in your sleep." He said in mild exasperation, as if explaining to Road for the thousandth time why she can't have candy before dinner. Not for the first time, a small pang of disappointment twisted Lavi's stomach before he beat it into submission. He sat there silently for a moment, his brain berating him for not saying anything. _You've just woken up in a strange place to see your worst enemy sitting across the room from you. Don't just stare at him!!! _"You seem disappointed about that. Would you like me to fix it?" Tyki made a move to stand up.

"NO!" Lavi said, inching further from the other man. "What did you do to me? Where am I? Where are my clothes? Why did you do whatever it was you did? How long have I been asleep?" _Oh, so NOW you decide to act accordingly... all at once._ Lavi's inner voice sneered.

"Geez, easy on the questions." Tyki said, leaning back and exhaling a cloud of smoke. "I think its fairly obvious that I kidnapped you. If I told you where you were, I would be in even more trouble with the Earl than I already am. Your clothes were filthy, they're in the wash. I thought we'd already got my motives cleared up last night at dinner. You've been asleep for..." Tyki paused to think "...about ten hours. Do you feel okay?"

"Uh... I think so. A bit of a headache, but other than that, I feel fine." Lavi said. _Wait, fool!!!! Why are you casually chatting with a Noah!!!_

"Good. I was beginning to think I'd hit you a bit too hard with that hammer." Tyki said.

"You hit me with my hammer?!"

"Not YOUR hammer, but A hammer...there was a lot of blood though..." Tyki said. "Breakfast is probably ready. You should get dressed."

"In what?" Lavi asked.

"You can wear something of mine." Tyki said dismissively, getting up and walking into the closet. He tossed Lavi some clothes and sat down again with a sigh.

Lavi pulled on a pair of Tyki's tight black pants. "I feel like a manwhore..." he said, missing his custom made uniform.

Road chose that moment to walk in the door. "Breakfast is ready. The Millennium Earl made pancakes." Her gold eyes drifted across the room till they came to a rest on Lavi. "Having fun playing with your new toy?" she asked Tyki, still looking at Lavi. "You really are hot," she said, her yellowy eyes penetrating Lavi's green one. "You know Allen Walker, right?" she asked.

Lavi nodded, putting on a shirt and eyeing the little girl in front of him with suspicion. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Road Kamelot," Tyki said, getting up and pushing her out the door. "My brother's adopted daughter. She's Noah's dreams and more than a bit annoying sometimes." He closed the door, then realized that he needed to be on the other side of it and opened it again. "Well come on." He said, looking at Lavi. The exorcist sat down firmly in the dusty armchair. Tyki sighed. "I said come on." Lavi glared at him. "As in NOW, Lavi."

The exorcist didn't budge. "I prefer to eat without feeling like I'M the main course," he said. "Besides, I'm not hungry."

Tyki shrugged. "It's breakfast. And most of them either aren't here or won't care." Lavi just stared at him. The Noah decided on a different approach. "If you don't get your ass out of that chair, I'll rip your heart out."

"No you won't." Lavi said, looking at the Noah blankly.

Tyki smiled. "Fine, have it your way." He said. With a flourish of his hand, Lavi's hammer appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He twirled the small weapon in his finger's still smiling.

"Hey, gimme that." Lavi said, perking up a bit.

Tyki shook his head. "Not till you obey me."

"Fine. Keep it." Lavi leaned back. Tyki examined the hammer and began to slowly bend the handle. "Hey. Be careful with that." Lavi said. The Noah continued his bending till the small hammer threatened to snap. "OI! Give it here!"

"Come get it!" Tyki taunted, holding it over his head. Lavi lunged for the Noah, intending to tackle him, but passed right through him, almost face-first into the wall. Tyki grabbed Lavi's arm's, stabilizing him. "What's the matter? Am I to fast for you?" he said into the future Bookman's ear, laughing slightly.

'What the hell was that?" Lavi asked.

"Have you forgotten? I'm a Noah." Tyki released Lavi's arms and stepped back. "Ready to give up and eat yet? I'm starved." He smiled again, clearly enjoying this little game of keep-away. Lavi whirled around and dove for the hammer. Tyki held the hammer above the exorcist's head. Lavi jumped up, but Tyki was a good 3 inches taller than he was, so he came short. He kept reaching for it, and eventually backed Tyki up against the bed. He stretched his arm out, almost reaching it. Tyki, whose face was just inches from the redhead's, leaned forward and placed his lips against Lavi's.

Lavi was so surprised that he overbalanced and fell on top of Tyki. Any passersby would have undoubtedly screamed: 'Oh my God, Tyki's about to get raped by an exorcist!!!' Lavi hurriedly scrambled off the Noah, appalled. He wiped his lips furiously, shooting Tyki a venomous look. Tyki sat up and grinned. "Breakfast?" he said cheerily. Lavi knew that he'd been beaten and nodded.

"Don't worry about my family too much, okay? The only one you'll have to worry about is the Earl, but he's usually pretty genial till about 3 in the afternoon." Tyki stood up and walked through the door, with Lavi stalking after him dejectedly. The exorcist's conscience was mentally poking him: _Lavi, you idiot. Bad idea. Really bad idea. He's a Noah. Don't follow him. _ Lavi knew it was right, but he couldn't pull himself out of Tyki's spell, so he kept walking. Had that one small kiss enchanted Lavi to the point where he had no control of his own actions? It was as if the second he'd laid eyes on this Noah, the man had turned him into a fish and hooked him. This probably meant Lavi was going to end up on a skillet, dead, but try as he might, every fiber of his being seemed drawn towards Tyki Mikk.

~*~I feel horrible about taking so long to write this!!! ^^' And I have no excuse whatsoever aside from stupidity and sheer laziness. Oh well. I plan to be a bit more motivated from here on...~*~

P.S.: For those of you who have read up to Chapter 187, I reeeeeally like Wisely and am thinking of adding him as a minor character...Should I?


	4. Strange fruit and stranger company

The dining room was large and foreboding. A large circular table sat at its center, surrounded by 15 high backed chairs. The entire place was black and white, but the incredibly high ceiling faded off into a deep purple shimmer that seemed to swirl and warp as Lavi entered. Only 3 of the chairs were occupied but the redheaded exorcist felt like he had a full audience watching him. He recognized Road's hair peeking out from behind a large stack of books, but the other two were unfamiliar. Tyki sat down and indicated for Lavi to do the same.

"Won't someone want to sit here?" Lavi whispered.

"No. That's Sweet Tooth's chair and he's on a mission in Botswana." Tyki said. His words echoed slightly and Lavi shuddered, sitting down hesitantly. _So you can face a level 3 akuma, but you're afraid to eat breakfast with a few Noah? Psh..._ Lavi sighed and examined the two Noah sitting across from him. One had long blonde hair and what looked like a super ball dangling from a wire on his head. Lavi had trouble determining whether the Noah was male or female. The one sitting next to...it...was obviously a guy, but dressed almost identical to the blonde one. Lavi wondered if they were twins. "Ah! Introductions." Tyki said. "These are the Twins, Jasdero and David." He said, indicating the two.

"And you must be Tyki-pon's exorcist lover!" exclaimed David. "Have you raped him yet, Tyki?" he said, turning to Lavi's kidnapper.

"No. Shut up. And don't call me that." Tyki snapped.

"Die in a hole, _Tyki-pon_." David retorted, sticking up his middle finger and blowing a raspberry.

Tyki sighed, muttering an unsavory remark under his breath at David. Lavi started counting all the crosses in the room to evade his thoughts. _Seven on each Noah's heads, that's 28. Thirteen on the backs of the chairs, 41..._ There were lots of religious symbols in frames on the walls and Lavi counted 38 crosses, 15 pentacles, 8 Om symbols and several Jesus fish. _Strange place to eat breakfast..._ the exorcist thought.

"Do you normally eat here?" he asked.

"No. But we have a guest today, so the Earl decided to do things more formally than usual." Tyki explained.

"Guest? What guest?" Jasdero asked.

Tyki ignored him and continued talking to Lavi.

"I don't exactly know who. Apparently one of the other Noah is being given a mission by the Millennium Earl. Weasel or something."

Immediately, Road's head snapped up from her books. "Wisely's coming?!" she asked, grinning ear to ear.

"Yeah, that's the one. That creepy psychic." Tyki said with mild distain.

"He's not creepy. And he's almost as old as the Earl, so show him some respect. He's never even had to be reincarnated!" Lavi's brow furrowed as he recorded this information. _Interesting, this must mean that killing the Noah doesn't really do much to hinder them in the long run. They just choose a new body, like the akuma._

"He just gets on my nerves." Tyki said, crossing his arms.

"How so?" came a level voice with a vaguely Middle Eastern accent from the direction of the doorway. Lavi turned around to see a tan man with white hair pulled back with a striped scarf. In the center of his head, along with the Noah's stigmata, was an eye.

"Wisely!!!" Road greeted the man, running up and throwing her arms around him.

"It's good to see you, Road," He returned her hug, spinning her around once. "Mercym and Joyd." He said, acknowledging Jasdevi and Tyki. The Noah of Pleasure nodded curtly and Jasdevi eyed him curiously. "And what's this? An exorcist?" Wisely plopped down in the seat next to Lavi. "Why didn't you cook him, Earl? You know I hate sushi." The young Bookman sank into his chair.

"Don't tease him, Wisely." Tyki said protectively.

Wisely shrugged. "Fine. But what IS for breakfast then? I'm famished."

"Pancakes!" the Millennium Earl said, striding into the room with a towering mound of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. _EEK!!! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead._ Lavi thought, trying to make himself look invisible.

"You don't look dead to me, exorcist. And don't worry; I won't kill you unless Earl says to." Wisely said, smiling at Lavi. _This guy can read minds?!?!_ "Yes." The new Noah answered Lavi's unspoken question. _A bit invasive..._ Lavi thought. "Normally I try not to pry, but your thoughts were very loud. Deek, right? I'm Wisely." He held his hand out.

Lavi took it hesitantly. "I don't go by Deek anymore..." he said, trying to silence his racing mind. _You can't let this guy get at your records!_ He repeated mentally.

"Right. Is Bookman okay, then?" he said. "And I told you already, I won't look into your records if you don't want me to."

"You better not." Tyki menaced, his venomous words in stark contrast to the sunny plate of pancakes the Earl placed in front of him.

"Thanks, Earl!" Wisely said, digging into his own pile of steaming pancakes. Lavi just poked at his food. _I wonder if it's safe to eat..._ he wondered. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned." Wisely said.

"I thought you said you wouldn't..." Lavi was finding this Noah's power's very unnerving.

"Sorry, Bookman." Wisely said, without looking up from his breakfast. "But I find your thoughts fascinating. Don't take it personally." He paused. "If you don't mind me asking, what is a Bookman and exorcist doing eating breakfast with the Clan of Noah?"

"Yes, Tyki-pon, I was about to ask the same thing." The Earl chimed in.

"The master's in love." Wisely said with complete certainty.

"AH! Get out of my head! And stop calling me that!" Tyki shouted at Wisely, who just sat there, unphased by the verbal abuse. "I'm not in love!" he said, but the slight blush that had risen to his face proved that all evidence was to the contrary.

"Stupid lying bastard!" David said. "Yes you are!" both he and his twin shouted in unison.

"I didn't read your mind! Your face gave it away!" Wisely protested, spurred by Jasdevi's remark. This began a full on shouting match among the Noah, with Tyki shouting accusations at Wisely and insults at the twins, Wisely denying Tyki and Road trying to restrain an increasingly violent Jasdevi.

"WE'LL SHOOT YOUR BRAINS OUT, STUPID TYKI!!!"

"AAH! DON'T, JASDEVI! THAT'S THE EARL!!!"

"SHE'S **YOUR** MOTHER TOO, JOYD!"

"YOU'RE ALL FUCKING LIARS!"

**"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP?!?!"** This time it was the Millennium Earl shouting, and suddenly looking very menacing. The room fell silent.

"Yes, master, we're sorry." The Noah said in unison, bowing their heads. Lavi tried to sneak out the door.

"YOU!" the Earl snapped, pointing at him. "Why ARE you here?"

Lavi sat back down. "Tyki kidnapped me." The exorcist said quietly, afraid if he spoke any louder the Earl would injure him very badly.

"Tyki-pon, when do you plan on killing him?" the portly man asked.

"What? I don't." Tyki said, glancing at Lavi.

"Yes you do." Wisely said in his knowing manner.

"No! I love him! I wouldn't kill Lavi." Tyki said, but this time, his voice faltered slightly. Lavi's heart sank. He had known the Noah would probably take his life, but his slight slip was as devastating as if Tyki had stabbed Lavi in the back. The young exorcist wondered why the hell he was so goddamn surprised. Lavi was a Bookman infiltrating the Black Order, sworn enemies of the Noah. Had he actually believed that Tyki could love him? That he would be able to return the favor? While Lavi's thoughts banged restlessly around his skull, Jasdevi had taken up giving Tyki suggestions on how best to dispose of Lavi once he'd had his fun with him. The Pleasure of Noah had lapsed into a troubled silence.

"Will you shut up already, Mercym?" It was Wisely who spoke. "You're talking about his death while he's sitting right here. Why can't this just be a normal breakfast? ...Sorry, Bookman."

"Damned Wisely, you always ruin Jasdevi's fun! Hee." Jasdero slumped forward onto the table and sighed.

David bit into his breakfast and shuddered. "My fucking pancakes are cold." He said, sticking out his tongue in disgust. "Let's go, Dero." The Twins stood up and walked out, slamming the door behind them.

"Oh no!" Road exclaimed, standing up and gathering her books. "I'm late for school!" She waved goodbye to Wisely and rushed out the door behind the Twins.

Wisely stood up. "Come shopping with me, Lavi," he said. The exorcist stood up and Tyki made a move to follow. "You stay here, Joyd." Tyki sat back down reluctantly and without a word, which Lavi thought was strange.

Lavi followed Wisely outside and down a dirt road to a small town. The crisp morning air helped Lavi get a grip on the majority of his emotions and clear his head. Once in the town, the Noah walked into a produce market. "You were pretty hurt when Joyd pretty much said he would kill you." He said matter-of-factly. Lavi nodded. "I wanted you to know that your 'Tyki' doesn't mean it. He falls into a small portion of Noah who suppress their powers subconsciously. They are the ones that seem more human, and usually go through phases where they develop infatuations with humans such as yourself. They're like cats with mice who like playing with their food before eating it. You with me so far?" Wisely paused, picking up a perfect peach and biting into it.

"For the most part." Lavi said, still feeling melancholy. "But Road is one of the oldest Noah, and she likes Allen Walker, an exorcist. Why is that?"

"She doesn't like him. She only stalks him out of boredom." Wisely said, finishing his peach. "Anyways, Tyki isn't the one who wants to kill you, though his Noah genes long to tear you limb from limb. But he'll do anything to try and overcome those feelings. I can tell that he really cares about you. I've never seen the Pleasure so devoted to one human."

"So if he loses control over himself, he will kill me..." Lavi said, feeling slightly better with this knowledge for some reason. _But he's still potentially dangerous, and you're still being a blind idiot and forgetting your duty as a Bookman._

"Pretty much. Or if his Noah decides to stop toying with you and just kill you both. So don't do anything stupid." Wisely paid the vendor for the peach and a few strange, scaly bananas. "You know, I don't think you really care about your position as an exorcist much, do you."

"No. I only took the job to record the details of this war. But now I'm stuck with it." Lavi said, suddenly realizing how strange it was to be buying fruit in mid-winter, let alone radioactive bananas. "What are those?" he asked Wisely, indicating the fruit in his arms.

"Thought so. Is it because you're afraid you'll become a Fallen One?"Wisely said, beginning to walk back in the direction they'd come from. "And these are monsteras, very tricky to eat, but oh so delicious."

"How did you know about the Fallen Ones?" Lavi asked. This Noah was very intelligent.

"I have full access to your memory, remember?" Wisely said casually.

Lavi was silent for a moment. "I thought you said you wouldn't tap my memory."

"Oh, yeah." Wisely stared at Lavi, as if debating whether or not to say something more. Finally he asked "Can I pet your hair, Bookman?"

"What?"

"It just looks reeeeeally soft and fluffy." Wisely said by way of explanation and reached up to mess with the young Bookman's hair. "You have no idea how amusing that is." The Noah said when he was done. "I think you should go have a talk with Jo- I mean Tyki. He really loves you, though, so try not to break his heart, Bookman. And you yourself shouldn't feel afraid to open up to him, even if he can be a bit rude."

"Okay. Thanks, Wisely." Lavi said.

The Noah's 3rd eye blinked and he handed Lavi one of the monsteras. "Goodbye, Bookman!" he said and walked off into the December morning, carrying nothing with him but a mysterious grin and a strange fruit.

* * *

Woohoo! I got my mojo back and wrote a decent chapter!!!! Now to deal with the problem that I haven't done a lick of homework for the past week....

Oh well! ^_^

I was listening to Breath by Breaking Benjamin while brainstorming, and realized OMFG THIS SONG FITS MY STORY PERFECTLY!!!!!!

You should listen to it... d[-.-]b

And, yes, monsteras are REAL fruits. They are fucking AMAZING!!! Like a cross between a pineapple and a banana. But it takes about 3 weeks to eat them and they have prickly hairs you have to burn off or suffer getting stuck in your lips...


	5. Love is difficult!

As he watched Wisely fade away down the road, Lavi struggled with himself. He walked inside the Noah's hideout, subconsciously noting the that the architecture was that of a high-end mansion. Lavi's mind was once more torn in two and he found himself in a heated debate with the voices in his head...

_Lavi, you're a Bookman, not some Noah's toy, just leave. _

_No, all common sense put aside, you really care about Tyki, just go talk to him._

_If you don't leave now, you'll be stuck here a good while longer. _

_So? You WANT to stay with Tyki, don't you? _

_You aren't even being productive as a Bookman OR an exorcist. _

_What about all that information Wisely gave you? _

_That was coincidence, he's gone now. _

Lavi sighed and sat down in a window seat on the second floor. Outside, it began to rain, the misty wall of water falling from the sky making a soft and level _shhhhh_ sound on the window pane. _God, why does emotion have to be so complicated?_ He asked himself.

"Lavi?" a concerned voice emerged from the shadows of a small side hallway. It was Tyki, his golden eyes mirroring the weather in that they seemed hesitant and troubled. The redhead looked up slowly, then leaned his head back against the cool glass, watching Tyki. The Noah gave a faint smile and sat down next to Lavi. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Lavi didn't know what to say, having still not made up his mind about his feelings for Tyki. He sighed. "You already are." He replied in a neutral monotone.

"Please don't leave." Tyki said. "I..."

"I'm not going anywhere." Lavi said, before he even knew the words had left his mouth.

"Even though the odds are that I'll kill you?" the Noah asked.

Lavi was silent for a moment. "All humans die eventually," he said, his green eye staring anywhere but Tyki Mikk. _So why not allow yourself a moment of happiness?_ Lavi knew he was sacrificing his duties as a Bookman for someone he'd only met two and a half days ago, but for some reason, it felt like the right thing to do. Lavi turned to look out the window and exhaled slowly, his breath creating a bloom of fog on the glass. He drew two dots in it, intending to draw a smiling face, but his mood wouldn't allow him that moment of childish bliss, so he erased it and slumped against the wall.

"Something's wrong, Lavi." Tyki said. Lavi felt the Noah's eyes penetrating him. "Can I cheer you up?"

"You can try..." Lavi muttered apathetically, turning for the first time to look his kidnapper in the eyes. He realized that Tyki was leaning in closer and closer to him, his grey face just inches from Lavi's. The Noah of Pleasure came closer still and kissed him on the lips.

Once Lavi got over the initial shock that was only natural, he found himself thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Tyki's tongue inside his mouth. He began to return the kiss, but Tyki pulled away at that second for air, immediately diving back in for another, more passionate kiss. The hollow feeling that had infested Lavi almost to the point of physical pain just moments before was replaced by longing. He knotted his fingers in the Noah's hair and pulled him closer. "Ack! Not so rough!" Tyki yelped, massaging his scalp.

"Wimp." Lavi said, reaching for the Noah yet again.

"Am not." Tyki replied. "Would you rather find somewhere more comfortable?" he asked. "This may not be the best spot for what I want to do to you."

Something about that statement seemed wrong to Lavi. "That makes it seem like you're just using me... Like I have no choice."

"So what if I am?" Tyki asked. "You want this, don't you?"

_They're like cats with mice, they love playing with their food before eating it..._ "You don't really love me, do you, Noah." Lavi's question was more of an accusation. He was quickly beginning to feel like all Tyki had wanted of him from the beginning was sex.

"Of course I do, don't be stupid." Tyki said, standing up. "Now do as I say." He added impatiently. Lavi couldn't believe this man was actually trying to force him into obedience.

"No! I'm not just some akuma you can order around!" Lavi retorted. "I'm a human being with feelings, unlike you. I was an idiot for thinking you ever cared about me as more than some sex toy." Emotions suddenly flooded Lavi and he felt deceived, used, confused and outraged. But through all of this, some part of him still believed that Tyki Mikk cared about him. Something in the Noah's eyes told Lavi that he hadn't meant what he said. Still, the future Bookman was so extremely pissed at his own stupidity for letting himself fall into a false sense of security and happiness that he silently made the hasty decision never to trust this man again. _Get away, get away now and never let yourself be this vulnerable again. The Bookmen have no hearts, leave now._ The redhead averted his green eye from Tyki's so he wouldn't be tempted to fall under their spell any more than he already had.

"Lavi...that's not what I meant." Tyki seemed to realize the mistake he'd made. "I would never..."

"Yes you would." Lavi shot back, knowing he had to hurt this man to get away. His thoughts were a whirlwind and he didn't even try to grapple with them, he just pushed his way past Tyki, willing himself not to turn around.

It seemed to Tyki like Lavi's personality had undergone a 180 degree flip in the ten seconds since Tyki had first started kissing him. The Noah made no effort to stop Lavi as the young exorcist strode away from him down the hallway, even though he could easily have intercepted him. _What did you do this time?_ He asked himself. _Either you've lost your way with people, or Lavi's extremely bipolar..._Tyki felt dazed at his would be lover's premature departure. _All the other women I've fucked haven't been this confusing._ Tyki puzzled. _But he's not a woman.... _Sneered the small voice in the back of his head he always tried to ignore. _GOD! Why do guys have to be so complex?!...You're just not used to them...Why can't he just see that I love him?!?!?!...You say stupid things. He's proud and independent. Chicks may not mind when you use them, but he does... I've met some pretty independent women...My point is, you've never truly loved anyone You're a hopeless romantic...You're me, right?...Yes, I'm Noah's Pleasure...So I'm taking advice from myself?!...Never mind...Shut up!_

"FUCK!!!" Tyki screamed at the top of his lungs, immediately feeling a bit less confused and angry. His voice echoed, fading slowly into nothingness.

"What's wrong hee?" a bleary voice came from across the hall. Tyki looked around to see Jasdero's face poking out from behind the edge of a door. He'd forgotten this was where the Twins' room was. Jasdero rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned as wide as the stitches in his mouth would allow.

"Why aren't you at school?" Tyki barked.

"We didn't feel like going, so?" David snapped, appearing behind his twin and shoving the blonde so he stumbled out of the room they shared. Tyki noticed that both their hair was mussed up and they both had dark circles under their eyes not resulting from their makeup. "We were tired. Now answer our question. Why did you wake us up?"

"Having trouble sleeping?" Tyki asked, not wanting to tell the Twins about his argument with Lavi.

"No." David said. "Now just-"

"Shut up and-" Jasdero continued.

"Die." David finished. These two were often starting and finishing each other's sentences. It annoyed the hell out of Tyki. "Now answer us!"

"You just told me to shut up." Tyki explained.

"SHUT UP!" the twins shouted in unison.

"There you go again, contradicting yourselves." Tyki chided, happily releasing his tension by bugging these two idiots.

"Tyki, you bastard, just answer our question!!!" they begged.

"Something happened in the hallway." He said evasively.

"What was it?! Answer us!" screamed the Twins, growing more and more irate.

"I answered your question. Maybe not to your satisfaction, but I answered it." The Noah of Pleasure replied calmly.

"That's it hee!" Jasdero pulled out his golden revolver, his twin swiftly following suit. Without hesitation, they opened fire on their relative. Tyki was unphased, as the bullets merely passed through his body and through the window behind him, shattering that poor, innocent piece of glass.

"What was that noise?!" the Millennium Earl's voice wafted up to the three Noah from the floor below. It sounded very angry. "There will be punishment if I find anything broken!!!"

All three glanced at the shattered window. "You jerk, Tyki!!!" David shouted. "Now we're gonna get in trouble!"

"YOU are." Tyki grinned and adopted a whiny, injured voice. "Eeeeeearl....Jasdevi's shooting at meeeeeeee agaaaain..." he called.

"TWINS! Get your asses down here this instant!!!" the fat man shouted.

"You...son of a... BITCH!!!!" David screamed at Tyki.

"Now we're really dead!" Jasdero said, shaking his fist at Tyki.

"That's too bad." He shrugged his shoulders, just as the Earl rounded a corner.

"There you are!" the Earl cooed in a sickly sweet, dangerous voice, his eyes glinting. Wordlessly, he grabbed the two twins by the hoods of their jackets and began to drag them off.

"Oww! That's my hair!" Jasdero wailed. David just gave Tyki a death glare and ran a finger across his throat, mouthing the words "You're dead..."

Tyki stuck his tongue out. "Brat." He mouthed back. David tried to leap at him, but ended up choking himself on his own jacket. They had reached the end of the hallway and the Earl unceremoniously hurled the two teens down a flight of stairs, disappearing from sight.

Phew! Finally got this chapter done! ^^' I've re-written it multiple times, and while I'm still not satisfied, this is as good as it'll get for a while... An awful lot of yelling in this chapter. O_o

I found another song that fits this story (at least the 1st part of the chapter...) it's Blue Caravan, by Vienna Teng. Very pretty song.

I'm gonna go on a brief rant... IT'S SO FRICKN HARD TO WRITE GOOD FANFICS!!!!!!! All the other stuff I write, I really like, but all my fanfics seem flat and dead. I think it's because they aren't my characters, so I can't develop them how I want to... Which reminds me, I still don't own D. Gray-Man, so don't sue me. GOD! My Fanfic prowess is equivalent to that of a spoon or some such innocuous nonsense. FUCK IT ALL!!!! (metaphorically speaking...) GODDAMN THE WORLD!!!! (or at least my fanfics)

So very sorry, but I needed to vent...Anywho... Enjoy and review!


	6. My savior?

Eventually, after what felt like hours of running, Lavi stopped to observe his surroundings. He was in what looked like the down-town area of the same town he'd been to earlier that day. The clouds above had grown ominous and threatened to let loose whatever cold, wet precipitation may be contained therein. Lavi shuddered and muttered a curse at the angry weather. Yet despite his gloomy attitude, his sprint had been rather exhilarating and had cleared his scrambled mind rather nicely. "Now I just need to find out where I am..." he said, voicing his thoughts out loud to break the stormy silence around him.

"Need directions?" a voice behind Lavi made him jump, and the exorcist whirled around to face the speaker. It was an auburn haired woman with warm green eyes. She smiled at Lavi and the teen couldn't help but let his eyes drift down her slender, curvaceous form.

He smiled and nodded, admiring the taunting cleavage that her low cut dress showed. Indeed, Lavi was so caught up in her appearance that he didn't notice something about the woman _change_. So the young exorcist was caught completely off guard when her body abruptly swelled, twisting into the form of a grotesque level 2 akuma. "Oh shi-" Lavi managed to choke out before a blast from one of the akuma's hurled him backwards and through a brick wall.

The exorcist sat up, clutching his head. "Shit..." he growled, reaching for his Innocence only to realize he'd left it on Tyki Mikk's bedside table. "FUCK!" he shouted in frustration, making a flailing lunge to the side as a chunk of debris was hurled at him by the akuma.

"Heehee! Look at the little exorcist run! I'm going to eat it and evolve!" it cackled.

Despite his situation, Lavi couldn't help but think how IDIOTIC akuma were. He scrambled to his feet, sprinting down an alley and emerging into another one. In no time at all, he was hopelessly lost, but completely rid of the akuma. He leaned back against the concrete wall behind him, panting and wired with adrenaline. How stupid of him for not realizing that there would be nothing but akuma surrounding the Millennium Earl's hideout! He'd have to be more careful next time...

An explosion of concrete threw the exorcist forward so he smacked his head on the opposite wall. Staggering to his feet and clutching his head, Lavi stumbled to face the akuma, who was now climbing with spider-like movements through the demolished wall of the alley. "Found youuuuuuu!" it called in a singsong voice.

The living machine swam in front of Lavi's vision in time to the pounding of his head. _No Innocence... no defense...I'm gonna die..._ he told himself, trying to remain as calm about the situation as possible. The vaguely humanoid akuma raised a spiked tentacle from its back, advancing slowly on the exorcist without ceasing its maniac cackling.

"Akuma. Halt." A familiar voice drifted down the alley. Both Lavi and the akuma whirled to face the figure striding towards them. "My, my. Look at the mess you've gotten yourself into..." the figure chuckled, striding forward. "And I've only let you out of my sight for an hour or so."

Lavi glared as Tyki Mikk came into view, his face half-hidden in shadow. "What are you doing here?" he snapped, backing against the cool wall.

"You left this in my room." Tyki's mouth twisted up in a smile as he pulled Lavi's hammer from inside his coat and dangled it in the air between them. "Looks to me like it was a good thing I didn't destroy it."

"Give it back, Tyki." Lavi growled, bristling. He wouldn't let himself fall for Tyki's charms more than once...

"Say please, Lavi." Tyki smirked. He turned to the akuma. "Go away. And tell all the others you know not to attack this one." He ordered.

"But Lord Mikk... it's an _exorcist_. The Earl said to kill those on sight!" the akuma's voice adopted a metallic whine.

"Well I'm telling you THIS one is different. Now get away." Tyki snapped, giving the Level 2 a death glare and pointing behind him in the direction he wanted the akuma to go. The akuma opened a mouth full of razor sharp teeth to protest. "Do you value your pathetic existence?" the Noah scowled, and the akuma made a strange half growling, half sighing noise before once more into the brunette woman Lavi had been distracted by and pushing past the Tyki into the street behind him.

Lavi wasn't sure whether to be grateful to Tyki for saving him, or alarmed that the Noah had followed him. "I won't come back with you." Lavi declared forcefully, backing up further. "I don't know why I even fell for your tricks in the first place."

"Tricks?" Tyki cocked his head slightly, advancing on Lavi. "Why would I trick you, Lavi? I just wanted to bring you your Innocence, and you're already making accusations. I would have thought you'd be more sensible than that."

"Well, you're a Noah, to start off. Why _wouldn't_ you play tricks on me?" Lavi said, trying to back himself through the concrete behind him as Tyki grew closer. "Even if kidnapping me had given me feelings for you, you would have just used me as your sex slave or something." Lavi was bitter as he said this. He'd fallen in love many times, but never had anyone showed any form of love other than friendship to the bubbly exorcist, and when that finally happened, it was a NOAH. Lavi was irked to say the least.

Tyki was leaning over Lavi now, significantly taller than the young exorcist. "As I've told you before, has it ever occurred to you that you mean more to me than whores I'll never know for more than a few nights?" there was an edge in Tyki's voice as he said this.

"So you'd still be screwing around with other people, even if you loved me?" Lavi could feel stinging tears threatening to surface. Why did he care so damn much what Tyki thought?! "You're sick, Tyki Mikk."

"You're so ungrateful, Lavi." Tyki frowned. "Why I missed you enough to track you down and give you your Innocence back, I'll never know." The Noah grabbed Lavi's cheek and pressed a firm kiss to his lips before turning on his heel and striding off. "If you ever change your mind, you know where I'll be, exorcist. And try showing a little more gratitude to the man who saved your life next time we meet."

Lavi stood stunned for a moment, staring after Tyki till he turned at the end of the alley and was gone. It was still another moment before he realized his right hand grasped the handle of his hammer firmly. Lavi sighed, allowing himself to collapse to the ground. _Stupid Tyki... who does he think he is screwing with my emotions like that?_ Just when he'd finally made up his mind never to think about the Noah again, just when he'd almost lured a hot woman (or akuma, as he now knew) to him, that bastard had to show up again ,throwing his world off center and getting to him like no one else on the planet could.

* * *

It's DONE!!!!!!!!! Not the whole fic, but I FINALLY uploaded!!! You have no idea how guilty I feel about leaving this for so long without updating... hopefully posting this will spur me back into Lavi/Tyki mode and I'll be able to finish this. Should only be a few more chapters...maybe more if I'm that enthusiastic about it... Sorry once again for not updating, hope you're somewhat happy now! I really _will_ try to be better at keeping on top of my chapter fics from now on... I hope...


	7. WELL IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME

_**A/N:**_ YEAH, IF IT ISN'T COMPLETELY OBVIOUS, THIS IS A DEAD PROJECT. IT'S LIKE YEAR OLD ROADKILL THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL USED TO BE A PUPPY. NOW IT'S JUST THAT ONE WEIRD-SMELLING SMUDGE BY THE CURB THAT LOOKS LIKE A HAPPY FACE IF YOU LAY DOWN NEXT TO IT AND SCRUNCH UP YOUR FACE. WHY THE CAPS? I DUNNO, WHY NOT THE CAPS? POINT IS, THIS ISN'T GONNA CONTINUE. BUT I _AM_ RE-WRITING IT IN MY SPARE TIME. NEW VERSION IS TITLED "DARK AND DARKER", AND CAN BE FOUND ON MY PAGE IF YOU CARE THAT MUCH. CHAPTER 1 IS UP, AND IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF, IT'S REALLY A LOT BETTER. IF YOU'RE STILL READING, THANKS FOR STICKIN' WITH ME AND THIS STORY, AND I HOPE YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE IT ANOTHER CHANCE OR WHATEVER, OR AT LEAST DO MY DIGNITY THE FAVOR OF NOT FOLLOWING THIS ANYMORE. IT REALLY ISN'T WORTH ANY ATTENTION AND IS PRONE TO DELETION ANY DAY NOW.

/coughhackwheeze

i feel like i actually just shouted that.


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